2012 Sundance Film Festival kicks off

Sundance Institute founder Robert Redford kicked off the 2012 Sundance Film Festival with some unsettling words -- that we live in "dark and grim" times. But on the bright side, he was only talking about little things like the economy and politics.

The film world isn't doing so badly. After all, the Sundance Film Festival is underway! The 10 days of madness has begun.

This year's schedule of 181 films in 11 sections is packed with promise and the next break-out star of 2012 might be walking the streets of Park City, Utah, even as we speak.. The buzzed-about films include the girl-driven comedy The Bachelorette and Spike Lee's new film Red Hook Summer. On Friday, 83-year-old Ethel Kennedy is expected for the premiere of the documentary Ethel. Oddly enough, so is Taylor Swift (we still haven't figured out that connection).

We'll also see a growing number of our favorite actors taking on new responsibilities, such as Rashida Jones in Celeste and Jesse Forever. Jones wrote and stars in the comedy about high school sweethearts who divorce in their 30s.

Of course there's so much more about Sundance. The parties, the red carpets, the general insanity, which Redford himself calls "overwhelming."

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